Wednesday, 21 December 2011

Well I can't think why anyone would want to watch Shipwrecked can you?

Nope. This is all lost on tv-ooh.

(The men in the photos above are named Tristan, Stephen and Joseph and they and their physiques unashamedly form part of the 'cast' of Shipwrecked, which is a 'reality' show on Channel 4 and E4. It's nearing the end of its current series, in which the main attributes for inclusion in said 'cast' appear to be the possession of a tanned and lithe torso (not unfamiliar to being smeared with baby-oil by a giggling photographer's assistant) and also possibly an argumentative nature while also having an inbuilt ability to pose purposefully in an exotic environment in some way. Spotted a branch? Hold onto it and pose like your life depends on it. You'll note that Joseph here has already managed it. Perhaps he has been practising. But that facial hair doesn't look very stranded-on-an-island friendly does it Joseph. Have you smuggled in razors perhaps? How will that be maintained? Will that be a storyline?

So, is Shipwrecked a genuine survival game show with a reality show twist or an example of lowest-common-denominator tv with its main selling points of 1) nice and sunny scenery and 2) young and fit participants with not much clothing on and not much else. In truth, it doesn't matter really, and let's remember this show is on its eighth series so it's doing something right. Furthermore, there is no lowest-common-denominator tv anymore. We live in turbulent times do we not.